DS Tracy
Sanders (top), who missed last week's game with the flu, is
expected to play this week and will be expected to contain Iowa's potent
receiving corps led by Willis Jacox. Helping Sanders out will be fellow
DS Tracey Perkins,
the AFL's leader in interceptions with nine. Photo by Chris
Arnold.

Kicking Off...

In a rematch of last year's ArenaBowl, the Storm looks to solidify its
playoff position as the Iowa Barnstormers come to town. The Storm has won
three of its last four since a 3-4 start, including two in a row. Tampa
Bay has also won its last two home games after losing three straight in
May and June. And did you know
that...thanks to a season-high 68 points in last week's win over
Anaheim, the Storm's average per game increased from to 33.6 to 36.7.
However Tampa Bay still ranks 13th in the league in scoring with 404 total
points.

The Coaches...

Iowa - John Gregory, 30-12 record in third season with
the Barnstormers, 30-12 in three AFL seasons.

Barnstormers to Watch...

QB Kurt Warner - It would not be much of a stretch to say
that he has assumed the mantle of being the AFL's best quarterback since
the retirement of Jay Gruden last fall. After being named to the All-AFL
first team last year ahead of Gruden, he has stepped his game up to
another level. Warner leads the AFL in yards per game (289.3), is second
in touchdowns with 57 and is second in passer rating among starting
quarterbacks with a 116.8 mark. In his only previous game against the
Storm, he completed 27 of 42 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
However, he was intercepted three times and failed to convert a touchdown
on a first-and-goal at the Storm's two-yard-line in the final minutes of
ArenaBowl X. A touchdown would have given the Barnstormers the lead and
perhaps the championship.

WR/DB Lamart Cooper - Willis Jacox may have gotten all
the attention in the last two seasons, but it is actually Cooper who
stands as the Barnstormers' leading receiver through 11 games. He leads
the Barnstormers in receptions (63), receiving yardage (945) and receiving
touchdowns (16). He has also added 406 yards on kickoff and missed field
goal returns. He also ha s a good track record against the Storm, as he
lead Iowa receivers with 94 yards on five catches, including one for a
30-yard touchdown, in last year's ArenaBowl.

DS Todd Harrington - No one in Iowa history has made more
tackles (184---including 145 solo stops) or intercepted more passes (13)
than Harrington, the man who has been the team's defensive stalwart since
its 1995 inception. But 1997 has been his best season, and it's good
enough to earn him consideration for the All-AFL first team. Harrington's
76 total tackles are second in the league, and his 66 solos are first. He
also ranks second in the league in interceptions with seven picks, two
behind the Storm's Perkins for the league lead. This will be his first
game against the Storm, as he missed last year's postseason with a knee
injury.

K Mike Black - Two years ago, he was the league's most
accurate and prolific kicker. This year, he's neither, but is still
posting strong numbers, having hit 68 of 78 extra points. Perhaps most
prominently, he has hit 10 of 20 field goals, an excellent percentage for
an AFL kicker. The dimunitive (5-6) Black has accounted for 351 points
over his three years with the Barnstormers, 98 coming through 11 games of
1997.

Noting the Barnstormers...

Comeback Kids - This may be a good time for the Storm to
face Iowa, because the Barnstormers enter on the heels of their most
galvanizing and draining win of the season, a 60-56 come-from-behind
triumph over Orlando in Des Moines. The game saw Iowa OS Willis Jacox get
injured, but his slack was picked up by Cooper and WR/DB Leonard Conley.
Conley, in particular, had his best game of the season, catching eight of
Warner's passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Warner ended up
throwing four eight scores, including two to Cooper and two more to WR/DB
Carlos James, including the game winner with 15 seconds left. The game
will be remembered for not just its excitement but the comebacks that Iowa
had to make. Orlando led by margins of 14-0, 21-7, 35-14, 38-21, 45-46 and
48-39 before Iowa finally assumed control. The Barnstormers outscored the
Predators 21-8 to close the game and move to 8-3, knocking Orlando out of
their perch as the team with the league's best record.

Step By Step - The theme of Iowa's media guide is "Taking
the Final Step." This, of course, is in reference to the Barnstormers'
loss to Tampa Bay in last year's ArenaBowl. It's also a consistent theme
from year to year. After a 1995 semifinal loss to Orlando, Iowa's media
guide theme was "Taking the next step." That they did, going one round
further than they did last year. So if they take the final step this year
and win the ArenaBowl, then it begs the question---what will be their
"step" in 1998?

Tampa Bay/Iowa Connections - Iowa WR/DB Leonard Conley is
a native of Tarpon Springs and played on the Spongers' 1986 team that went
to the state championship game.

Noting the Storm...

Statistically Speaking - Tampa Bay ranks second in
scoring defense, giving up 36.7 points per game, and second in total
defense, allowing 211.3 yards per game. Orlando ranks ahead of the Storm
in both categories...Offensively, Tampa Bay is 13th in scoring offense,
putting up just 36.7 points per outing, and is 12th in total offense,
averaging 247.7 yards per contest. However, the Storm is sixth in first
downs with 175...The Storm is 13th in the league with eight sacks. 25
percent of those came in last week's game alone...No team has made fewer
extra points than the Storm (36)...Perkins is first in the league with
nine interceptions and is sixth with 13 passes defensed...LaFrance is
sixth in the league in scoring with 116 points, is sixth in touchdowns
with 19, ranks fourth in receptions (75) and sixth in receiving yardage
(922).

From the Mouth of Marcum...

On Iowa - "They are not that much different from last
year. Every guy that made an impact for them is still there. They're going
to be pumped up for this game and we know that."

On the Fans - "It's a big one, the biggest of the year so
far. A great crowd could really help us out, and I think we're going to
get it---we're promoting this one hard."

Series History...

The Storm and the 'Stormers have met just once, but it was a reasonably
important matchup---ArenaBowl X to close the 1996 season.

08/26/96 - Tampa Bay 42, Iowa 38 - It was the first time
the Barnstormers and Storm met up, and the game couldn't have been any
bigger, or, as it turned out, any better. The game saw four lead changes
in the first half before Ron Moran's one-yard run tied the score at 28-28
going into halftime. After that, the Storm took control---relatively
speaking---but never truly gained a comfortable upper hand. As it turned
out, the Storm would take the lead for good on a 21-yard pass from Jay
Gruden to Ivan Caesar with 5:46 left in the third quarter. Iowa responded
with a Mike Black field goal on their next possession, but that was not
enough as the Storm motored right back down the field, finally scoring on
a seven-yard pass from Gruden to Game MVP
Stevie
Thomas 3:05 into the fourth quarter. Iowa responded with a
Warner touchdown pass to Chris Spencer before the game turned into a
resounding defensive struggle in the final minutes, culminating with a
heroic goal-line stand by the Storm in the final minute that gave Tampa
Bay their second straight title. The game was witnessed by a vocal and
intervening crowd of 11,411. Vocal because they were loud, drowning out
Gruden's signals most of the game, and intervening because fans in the
front row repeatedly grabbed Storm receivers as they ran sideline routes
in front of the boards. But that ninth defender did not keep the Storm
from a fulfilling championship, their fourth and the sixth for coach Tim
Marcum. Box Score